


Cookies at Midnight

by ProHeroKali



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Baking, Cookies, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-20 02:01:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20667461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProHeroKali/pseuds/ProHeroKali
Summary: Mal and Jane make cookies late one night.Well, there's an attempt.





	Cookies at Midnight

**Author's Note:**

> This is a gift for one of my best friends~
> 
> Happy Birthday Irio 💙

“Kinda late, isn’t it?”

Mal, startled, jerked away from where she’d been rummaging through the cabinets and looked over to find Jane standing at the doorway of the kitchen, looking equal parts hesitant and curious.

She was wearing a fluffy, powder blue robe tied at the waist, and her long, mousy brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Freshly out of bed, Mal had to assume.

Gathering her bearings, Mal leaned against the counter where a shiny metal mixing bowl was sitting, crossing her arms over her chest in a vain attempt to look ‘casual’.

“I was hungry.” She gave Jane an exasperated look. “What, does this place have rules against midnight snacks too?”

“Well, there _ is _ a curfew, but that’s… mostly for walking around campus at night.”

There was an uncomfortable pause, where Jane looked unsure of herself; then, as if making up her mind, she padded into the kitchen proper.

A kind of panicked discomfort flooded Mal’s body as she noticed Jane eyeing the cabinet she’d been in.

“What were you looking for?” Jane asked.

“Nothing,” Mal replied just a bit too fast. She decided to try and switch the topic, continuing, "What are you doing down here anyway? I thought all of you Auradon ner- _ kids _ all went to bed at, like, nine.”

Ignoring the Auradon jab and coming closer, Jane’s eyes flickered to the bowl, barely hidden behind Mal’s back. She pointed to it. “And I’m guessing there’s _ nothing _ up with the bowl, either? Or the flour?”

Mal glanced quickly behind her. The bag of flour she’d taken out was indeed still sitting beside the bowl, half open. She cursed and turned around, briefly wondering if she could hex an inanimate object for the crime of merely existing.

She jumped as Jane’s hand gently touched her shoulder, like she’d been shocked.

"Were you going to bake something?”

Mal looked at Jane, feeling an incomprehensible emotion at the soft smile on Jane’s face. It was enough to poke through that wall in her, just for a moment, and Mal huffed as she tore her gaze away from Jane to glare at the bowl.

“I… couldn’t sleep,” she forced out, clenching a fist. “Lonnie… Lonnie said that chocolate chip cookies are supposed to make you feel better, so I thought I could-”

She cut herself off, biting her lip. Then, after a moment, she shoved away from the counter. “Whatever, never mind, it’s not important. I’m going back to bed.”

She made to stomp back towards the dorms, her stomach still a mess of knots and nerves.

“Wait!”

Mal was jerked to a stop as Jane suddenly snatched her by the wrist, stopping her from leaving. She whipped her head back around to glare questioningly at her. Jane squeaked and dropped Mal’s wrist, pulling her hands to her chest.

“I, um… You wanted cookies, so- so let’s make some!”

Mal looked at her, dumbfounded. Jane looked as if she were ready to be shouted at, though there was an earnestness to her. There always was.

She was like… like a tiny puppy, wide-eyed, tail always wagging, excited despite her timidity.

Mal sighed.

She _ had _ really wanted those cookies.

"... Fine," she grumbled.

Jane's already bright eyes somehow lit up even more. She grabbed Mal's hand and dragged her back to the counter; Mal, for her part, was too surprised by Jane's unexpected forcefulness to do anything but let herself be pulled along.

Letting go of Mal, Jane grabbed the mixing bowl. Immediately upon looking at it, she recoiled and gave Mal a concerned look.

"Um, Mal…?"

Mal grimaced as she forced herself to take another peek at the bowl; inside was something more akin to brown cement than cookie dough. She crossed her arms and looked away with a huff.

"The flour wasn't… doing… the... _ thing _, so I tried to magic it into cookie dough, what of it?"

"You need more than just flour to make cookie dough, Mal," Jane said, mercifully deciding to bite her tongue on the 'using magic frivolously' lecture her mother had no doubt forced her to memorize. She took the bowl over to the sink, filling it with hot water and getting to work scrubbing the not-cookie paste off.

"Haven't you made cookies before?"

Mal flinched.

"Evie made those, I don't know how to bake" she said tersely. "I've… never done it, before."

"Wait, really?" The surprise in Jane's voice was genuine, and almost a little sad. "Like, not even with your mo-"

Jane caught herself. She didn't even look to see the heat death of the universe-level glare Mal was sending her way. Instead, she just cleared her throat and turned off the water, pulling the bowl away all shiny and clean, though with a noticeable brown stain on the bottom and sides.

"Well," she said, turning to Mal and presenting her with the bowl. Her smile was soft and kind, in a way that made Mal's own contempt dissolve away instantaneously. "You can learn with me. I'll teach you."

Mal hesitated. Then, despite the overwhelming feeling that she was somehow losing here, she took the bowl from Jane.

"... Okay, what's first?"

Jane immediately got to work, buzzing about the kitchen like it was a second home. In an instant she had measuring cups and ingredients lined up neatly on the counter, more ingredients than Mal had seen even Evie pull out. Skeptical, Mal set the bowl down and picked up one of the containers to read the label.

"Baking… soda?"

She cast Jane a suspicious glance, trying to gauge if this was just some ill-thought out prank.

"We don't need that just yet," was all Jane replied. She pulled out a whisk and a wooden spoon, handing both to Mal. "First! We're going to mix together the butter and sugars until they're all creamy."

Deciding it'd be the easiest way to go about it, Jane was the one measuring - perfect measurements, down to the gram - taking care that Mal could see how much of everything she was putting in the bowl. Then, she'd hand it off for Mal to mix, which Mal did so vigorously and aggressively.

"This is… actually kinda fun," she commented once she'd finished whisking the hell out of the butter and sugars.

Jane's eyes were practically sparkling.

"Right!"

Her smile turned affectionate as she dumped a teaspoon of the baking soda into a small glass of hot water.

"Me and my mom make cookies together every year for my birthday and winter solstice. I can't imagine-"

She stopped herself again.

Keeping her eyes locked on the frothy mixture in her bowl, Mal sighed.

"Just say it."

Jane hesitated, setting aside the baking soda water and giving Mal a sympathetic look.

"I just… couldn't imagine growing up without that."

Mal felt the knots in her stomach retwist. She started whisking the mixture again, her arm near mechanical as it whisked in fast, jerky movements.

"I don't need your pity," she said through gritted teeth.

The anger and frustration that had been half the reason she came down to the kitchen in the first place started to burn in her chest again.

"Just because half the time my mother didn't even remember my birthdays, never mind spend them with me, doesn't… doesn't _ mean _…"

Her chest tightened.

_ Oh, no _.

"It _ doesn't- _ It doesn't mean _ anything _, okay?!"

Her outburst was punctuated by her slamming the bowl on the counter.

She leaned forward, feeling her stomach churn as all sorts of unwanted, long-thought-dead emotions started clawing their way up her throat. The corners of her eyes stung, and she squeezed them shut to try and stem the waterworks threatening to turn on.

_ Get it together _ , she thought to herself, ** _ You_ ** _ don't cry _.

At her side, Jane seemed at a loss for words. Her big, blue eyes were glistening with the promise of tears, and she seemed wholly unsure of herself now.

After a moment's hesitation, she reached out, placing her hand on top of Mal's.

Her voice was soft and kind as she said, "Mal, it's... it's okay." She didn't even hesitate as she leaned her head on Mal's shoulder, her other finding its place making soothing motions on Mal's back. "_It's_ _okay_."

Mal didn't move away, she didn't yell for Jane to leave her alone, she didn't even flinch. Instead, she leaned into the warmth beside her, letting it flood through her as she slowly, slowly, _ slowly _ stopped fighting.

The first quiet, stifled sob that left Mal's body felt like a weight - just one of many - being lifted off of her chest.

The two stayed there for a long, long moment. Mal still wouldn't - _ couldn't _ \- fully cry, not that she particularly wanted to anyway.

But there was a comfort (an uneasy comfort, but comfort nonetheless) in letting some of her repressed pain seep out, and Jane clinging to her, comforting her - well, she couldn't say she hated it.

Finally, Mal calmed down, and she stared down at the bowl as she let her exhaustion wash over her. The cream had splattered all over from her slamming it so hard. She sighed as she realized most of it was on the counter.

"So much for cookies," she grumbled.

Jane lifted her head to look at the bowl as well.

"Hmm…"

She glanced around them for a moment, and then whispered in Mal's ear, "Don't tell anyone about this, okay?"

As Jane pulled away, Mal couldn't tell if the shiver that run up her spine was from the chill of Jane's absence or from how close her mouth had just been to Mal's ear.

Jane pulled out a flat pan, and with a sheepish grin to Mal, pointed at the pan. In an instance of powder blue magical energy, where there had been an empty pan was now laid out with a single layer of warm chocolate chip cookies.

Jane looked just as surprised to see them as Mal was.

"I'm so glad that worked," she said, her voice thick with relief. "I'd been having so much trouble perfecting it."

Mal, face tear-streaked, mouth slack-jawed, regained her composure and immediately leveled Jane with a disbelieving glare.

"Do you mean you could've done that to _ begin _ with?"

Jane didn't respond, just sheepishly grabbed a cookie and presented it to Mal.

After a tense moment, Mal swiped the cookie and took a bite.

Immediately it seemed to melt in her mouth, and she couldn't deny - that was one damn fine cookie. She swallowed and then sighed.

"Whatever, let's just eat."

\-----

"So, again, you just wasted my time for _ nothing _?"

"It wasn't for nothing," Jane defended herself. "I didn't even know if I could do it properly yet, my magics still… not all there."

They were both standing near each other, leaning on the island counter in the middle of the kitchen, the tray of cookies between them. More than half were already gone, and Mal promised herself she wouldn't go back to bed until every cookie had been devoured.

Jane smiled and picked up another cookie, examining the gooeyness of the chocolate chips.

"My mom does it this way sometimes. Only occasionally, when there's not enough time to bake. She doesn't like using magic for them though, she says making them this way 'loses the love'."

If she hadn't come totally down from the high of her emotions before, Mal was certainly dead sober now.

"The… love?" All that sentiment brought to mind was the last cookie incident. She winced again at its memory.

"Mom says that doing things with your hands is expressing your love. Especially when you're making something for someone else. Every touch is imprinting your feelings, your love, into whatever you're doing." Jane sighed. "She thinks that using magic to make it… loses that."

There was a pause, as Mal demolished a few more cookies, trying to process what Jane was talking about.

"I don't agree with her," Jane continued. "I think even through magic, if you want a feeling to come across, it will. Magic is just as much a part of you as your hands, after all."

Mal nodded, though she wasn't sure she understood completely - the whole 'love' thing in general was still a pretty new concept to her. So, she simply hummed in response and popped another cookie in her mouth.

Jane watched, her head delicately propped up on one hand, the tiniest smile on her face.

"Mal?"

"Hm?"

The lightest tinge of pink coloring her cheeks, Jane said, "Thank you, for letting me do this with you. And… thank you for… letting me in, at least a little bit."

Mal paused mid-chew. She swallowed hard and stared at the counter, that incomprehensible feeling from earlier slowly returning.

"Yeah, well, thank… thank you, too, for. Y'know." She gently waved a cookie in the air. Then, she looked over, her expression going deadly serious as she continued, "and, Jane, I'm not kidding, if you tell _ anyone _ about that… that… _ episode _ , I **swear-**"

Jane giggled, half genuine, half nervous, and raised her hands palms out. "I swear! Not a word."

"_ It never happened _."

"Never happened. I understand." Jane's expression softened into nothing short of genuine affection, and she reached out, grabbing Mal's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I promise."

Mal felt her face heat up, but she didn't pull her hand away. She just nodded.

"Thanks."

They stayed for a bit longer, idly chatting, finishing up Jane's magicked up cookies. The space between them seemed to dwindle more and more the longer they stayed there, until Mal was nearly pressed up to Jane's side.

It was warm - _ Jane _ was warm.

"We should probably go back to bed," Jane finally said, once the last cookie had been eaten. Mal was feeling a little greener than usual - call her crazy, but maybe humans weren't _ supposed _ to eat upwards of twenty cookies in one sitting.

Still, they were among the most delicious things she'd ever tasted.

She wondered how much of that was due to the chocolate chips (Lonnie was right, they _ were _ the most important part), and how much of that was because they'd been made (solely) by Jane and her pretty blue magic.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Mal replied, feeling her exhaustion to the core of her body. She'd never wanted to pass out as much as she did now.

She glanced towards the mess still left in the kitchen. "Um. Should we-"

Jane waved her hand. "I'll take care of it, don't worry. I wake up before everyone else anyway, so I'll get it cleaned up in the morning." She sat upright, and lightly touched Mal's shoulder. "Do you feel any better?"

Mal didn't have to think too hard like she normally did. "Yeah, I feel… better. Like I could actually sleep for the rest of the night."

"I'm glad," Jane said, that affectionate smile returning. She stood up, and Mal followed suit. "We should… we should do this again."

"... Yeah, okay."

Once again, Jane's eyes glittered with excitement ad she beamed at Mal; it made Mal's heart skip a beat or two.

"Awesome! I'll _ actually _ show you how to make cookies next time. Ooh, or we could try pie! My mom makes the _ best _ pumpkin pie and she's shown me her recipe so I could teach you and I swear it's amazing you'll love it and it'd be so much fun to make it with y-"

"Jane, Jane, _ Jane _," Mal said, unable to help the amusement in her voice. "Calm down."

"Oops," Jane said, giving Mal a sheepish grin. "Just… excited."

"Yeah," Mal said with a nod. "Me too." She yawned loudly and stretched her arms above her head. "I'm going to bed, then."

She started back in the direction of the dorms. Once she got to the doorway, however, Jane suddenly called out, "Uh, Mal?"

Mal stopped and looked expectantly back towards Jane.

"Um, just… any time you can't sleep, you can come to my room. It's- it's just down the hall from here."

Her face was earnest as she repeated, "_ Any _ time."

Mal couldn't help the smirk that tugged at her lips. "I'll keep that in mind." She chuckled. "'Night, Jane."

Jane beamed.

"Good night, Mal."


End file.
